We read the same news article every summer. A young child is left alone in a parked vehicle, windows rolled up, with the temperature soaring. Often, the results are deadly. There have already been a few reported cases across Canada this summer — stories that never cease to devastate widely, even in their repetition.

One such case was that of Milton, Ont. toddler Maximus Huyskens, who died June 26 after being left unattended in a car as temperatures crept up to 29 C. Maximus was in the care of his maternal grandmother, Leslie McDonald, at the time. The case is markedly similar to a incident reported recently out of Edmonton, where a three-year-old girl died after being left in a car outside a townhouse complex. Police have ruled out criminal charges in that instance.

Charges will be laid, however, against Leslie McDonald, Huyskens’ grandmother, for criminal negligence causing death, as well as failure to provide the necessities of life. Undoubtedly, this news will come as a relief to countless observers who have been calling for Ms. McDonald’s head since the day the news broke. “You just can’t leave a child to suffer in extreme temperatures,” they say, “and then walk away totally scot-free.”

I don’t know Ms. McDonald, but I am fairly confident that whether she is charged or not, she will not walk away scot-free. Needless to say, any formal punitive measures will be paltry compared to the lifetime of guilt and devastation she now faces; these charges will simply function as a cruel twist of the knife in an already mortifying situation. Surely, a lifetime of crippling regret should be punishment enough. And yet, it’s not entirely surprising that the public, and indeed, the police, are anxious to hold her formally accountable. After all, as the consensus goes, she must have been terribly distracted — or else, horribly neglectful — to have left a toddler in a sweltering car.

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Indeed, each and every time this happens (a handful every year in Canada according to informal assessments, an average of 37 times annually in the U.S. as determined by the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University), observers are generally quick to rush to judgement. And while the specific rationalizations tend to vary (careless parenting, digital distractions, neglectful attitudes, etc.) the underlying consensus is always the same: people believe that those who leave kids in cars are flawed, different somehow, meaning the same tragic accident could never happen to them. There’s a comfort in that logic, even if it’s entirely faulty.

The experts’ view is always the same. With every new story that emerges of a child dying in a hot car, they tend to reiterate the same unnerving refrain: It could happen to anyone. It’s a failing of the human brain, they claim, and not the social condition. Gene Weingarten echoed this point in his 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation, offering a cross-section of the types of people who have made the fatal mistake. He wrote:

The wealthy [make these mistakes], it turns out. And the poor, and the middle class. Parents of all ages and ethnicities do it. Mothers are just as likely to do it as fathers. It happens to the chronically absent-minded and to the fanatically organized, to the college-educated and to the marginally literate. In the last 10 years, it has happened to a dentist. A postal clerk. A social worker. A police officer. An accountant. A soldier. A paralegal. An electrician. A Protestant clergyman. A rabbinical student. A nurse. A construction worker. An assistant principal. It happened to a mental health counsellor, a college professor and a pizza chef. It happened to a pediatrician. It happened to a rocket scientist.

Many parents, undoubtedly, will find that excerpt terrifying. It suggests that any parent — even those who believe themselves extraordinarily loving, attentive and tuned-in — might find himself or herself in the same awful situation as Leslie McDonald. God help them if they happen to wander onto online forums. But as John McKiggan, founder of the Canadian branch of Kids and Cars — a group devoted to raising awareness about the dangers kids face in and around automobiles — told the National Post in June, in almost every reported case, hot car death are “not failures of love, but failures of memory.”

There are, of course, the odd exceptions whereby adults knowingly leave children in locked vehicles in high temperatures. The recently reported case of an Alberta mother allegedly leaving her three boys — ages six, three and 23 months — inside a parked vehicle was likely the result of foolish neglect. Quite rightfully, that mother was charged under the province’s Child and Youth Family Enhancement Act. But for what we know of the case of Maximus Huyskens — and indeed, the vast majority of cases of kids left in cars — the situation is one of a careful, loving caregiver suffering simply from the fallibility of the human brain. It just makes the rest of us sleep easier to believe those responsible are exceptionally neglectful. They’re not.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/08/robyn-urback-we-shouldnt-prosecute-those-who-mistakenly-leave-children-in-hot-cars/feed/0stdmaximusPublic funeral planned for Milton, Ont., toddler who died after he was left in sweltering carhttp://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/02/public-funeral-planned-for-milton-ont-toddler-who-died-after-he-was-left-in-sweltering-car/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/02/public-funeral-planned-for-milton-ont-toddler-who-died-after-he-was-left-in-sweltering-car/#commentsTue, 02 Jul 2013 18:37:55 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=331769

The parents of a Milton, Ont. toddler will host a public funeral on Wednesday for their son, who died last week after he was left unattended in a car outside the family home for “an extended period of time.”

TheCuteKid.comMaximus Huyskens, the Milton toddler who died of heat exposure after being left in a car while in the care of his grandmother.

Halton Regional Police said the boy, who would have turned two this month, was in the care of his grandmother at the time of his death last Wednesday. His father, Marcus, was at work at a Milton audio-visual production company and his mother, Tamara, was at an appointment.

The couple also has two older children.

“They’re having a really difficult time,” said funeral director Rebecca Hunter. She said she had not seen or heard mention of the grandmother.

An online fundraising campaign had raised more than $1,500 for the family on Tuesday, in an attempt to “[ease] the financial hardship associated with this unfortunate accident.”

Last week police said autopsy results “were consistent with the ongoing investigation of the child being exposed to high-level temperatures.” A toxicology report has yet to be released and Halton Police have not confirmed a cause of death.

According to police, outside temperatures at the time of death hovered around 28 C, with the temperatures inside the sedan reaching 50 C.

No charges have been laid in case. The Halton Police homicide squad is continuing its investigation, as is its mandate in any death of a child under five years old.

The funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Milton. Ms. Hunter said the family chose to open the service to the public because “they understand there are a lot of people who cared about their son and deserve an opportunity to grieve.”

A man is under arrest after a Milton woman barricaded herself in her bathroom yesterday, hoping to protect herself from a man who police say was trying to kill her.

Halton Regional Police received a call around 3 p.m. yesterday from a Milton resident who said a gun had been fired inside their home.

The woman then locked herself in her bathroom to hide from the accused, said Det. Sgt. Peter Corner.

Once she felt safe enough to escape, the woman ran to a neighbour’s house where she called police.

The woman was not injured.

A 70-year old man from Milton has been arrested in connection with the incident, and has been charged with attempted murder, uttering threats, careless use of a firearm, pointing a firearm and using a firearm in the commission of an offence.

Det. Sgt. Corner said police will not be releasing the name of the arrested so as to protect the identity of the victim.

A Milton barn fire on Saturday led to the discovery of a grow-op, the seizure of $300,000 worth of marijuana plants and the death of a five-foot alligator.

Firefighters responding to the fire located the plants on the property on Guelph Line. After a warrant was obtained, investigators found 66 plants in the house and approximately 200 more in the barn.

Animal control officers were also called to assist, removing two large pythons from inside the house, said a Halton Police media release. It is also believed that a “variety” of snakes and an alligator were killed in the barn fire.

“The cause at this point has not been determined,” said Sgt. Dave Cross. He said animal control will be looking into whether the reptiles had proper documentation, and Milton Hydro will also conduct an inspection to determine whether power theft was involved.

Stanley Stainton, 48, has been charged with production of a controlled substance and possession for purpose.

Additional charges are pending.

This is the second Milton grow operation discovered by Halton Police in a week, the first used an unmanned aerial drone to spot the plants in a field on Sept. 11.

The death of a father and his six-year-old son was murder-suicide, Halton Regional Police said Sunday.

Officers responded to a 911 call at 1:20 p.m. Saturday. When they arrived at the residence on Clark Boulevard in Milton, they found 43-year-old Wojciech Kosalka and his son Noah, dead in their home, police said.

The emergency phone call was made by an unidentified man who also met with police at the scene, and is cooperating with the investigation, Sgt. Dave Cross said.

Homicide investigators and a forensic team worked at the scene throughout the day.

Police said they have established the cause of death for both of the deceased but they will not release the results of the autopsies.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/09/death-of-milton-father-and-six-year-old-son-ruled-a-murder-suicide-halton-police/feed/1stdHalton Police release names of father and six-year-old son found dead in Milton homehttp://news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/09/halton-police-release-names-of-father-and-6-year-old-son-found-dead-in-milton-home/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/09/halton-police-release-names-of-father-and-6-year-old-son-found-dead-in-milton-home/#commentsSun, 09 Sep 2012 16:28:38 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=210693

Halton Regional Police have released the names of a father and son discovered dead in their home Saturday afternoon.

Officers responded to a 911 call at 1:20 p.m. Saturday. When they arrived at the residence on Clark Boulevard in Milton, they found 43-year-old Wojciech Kosalka and his son Noah, six, dead in their home, police said.

The emergency phone call was made by a man who also met with police at the scene, and is cooperating with the investigation, Sgt. Dave Cross said.

Homicide investigators and a forensic team worked at the scene throughout the day.

Police do not know how the pair died. Autopsies will take place Sunday at Hamilton General Hospital to try to establish the exact causes of death.

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The bear is described as a large male black bear, about 180 kilograms in weight.

Police say there’s no indication the bear has harmed any humans or cattle so far.

They say since bears can travel great distances, it’s not known exactly where it is now but the Ministry of Natural Resources has been contacted.

Anyone who sees such an animal should call the ministry’s bear reporting line. If the situation is life-threatening it’s advised to call 911.

Bear attacks are rare. Fourteen people have been killed by grizzly, black or brown bear attacks in Canada since 2000, but Sylvia Dolson, executive director of the Whistler-based Get Bear Smart Society, estimates “millions” of human-bear encounters occur every year without incident.

Canada is home to around 380,000 black bears and 26,000 grizzly bears, half of whom live in B.C., according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

When Tom Chudleigh awoke at 5:45 a.m. on April 28 at his orchard in Milton, about 65 kilometres west of Toronto, and saw his thermometer stuck at -5 degrees C, he knew he had a problem:

“The blossoms had three nights in a row of temperatures that they should not have been able to take.”

Mr. Chudleigh, 72, is a fourth-generation apple farmer in the Toronto area — two generations in Mississauga and two generations in Milton. In his 54 years in the orchard, he has never seen frost devastation like this.

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“We are expecting 75% to 90% damage,” says Mr. Chudleigh, standing in his John Deere jacket and Tilley hat at the spot where Granny Smith Lane intersects McIntosh Parkway on his 50-hectare farm. Around him, young light-green leaves are opening on 36,000 apple trees. A tractor rumbles by spraying fungicide; another spreads straw to mulch the trees. Chudleigh’s does not have crop insurance.

Mr. Chudleigh walks up to one Golden Delicious tree, pulls off a blossom spur, and splits open with his thumbnail the lower part of the blossom. Inside is a tiny speck of blackness.

“The pollen tube and the ovary are all dead,” he reports.

Ontario fruit-farmers’ problems began with the record-setting warmth in March, which started the blossoms of apple, cherry and peach trees opening much earlier than normal.

“The sap started moving up and started everything going,” says Mr. Chudleigh. “Then in early April we got colder weather. The first few frosts, the apple blossom was dormant enough to be able to accept the colder weather. But as the blossoms developed more and more, it became more and more vulnerable.”

An apple begins forming when the pollen sacs on the tip of the flower release the pollen, which drops down on the blossom’s stigma, and then down the pollen tubes to mate with the ovary for fertilization.

“People that I talk to that are in the business that are 90 years old say, ‘Oh, it’s just like ’45,’” he adds.

Across Highway 25 at Andrews’ Scenic Acres, an 80-hectare operation whose strawberries and corn I often buy in Nathan Phillips Square, nature has also taken its toll.

“It wasn’t so much the frost,” explains Bert Andrews. “It was that heat. Things were three or four weeks ahead of normal. It was the earliness of the season combined with the frost that did it.”

He estimates the frost killed 50% of his apples, most of his cherries and many of his strawberries. His 10 hectares of raspberries and 7 hectares of blueberries are OK, he adds.

“We’ll survive somehow,” says Mr. Andrews, who bought this farm with his wife in 1980. Fifteen migrant workers just arrived here from Mexico. “Every year’s different. We just don’t usually get jolted so bad quite so early.”

Over the years, intent on picking apples in the fall, my family has braved crowds at Chudleigh’s farm that rival Yonge/Bloor subway station at rush hour. (The orchard employs 120 staff in the fall, along with 300 people year-round at Chudleigh’s pie bakery.)

Mr. Chudleigh is now looking at importing apples from Quebec and Nova Scotia to offer his customers. Along with the ducks, sheep, goats, alpacas, peacocks, horses, chickens, geese, rabbits, turkeys and calves of his seasonal farm, his hay maze, his swings and his slides, Mr. Chudleigh promises other surprises to entertain his guests this year, if they cannot go to the orchards and pick apples.

Even so, standing among the trees, he finds a few pollen tubes on the Golden Delicious that are green and healthy, which makes him a bit hopeful.

“I’ve been at it 50 years and we’ve had some good years,” says Mr. Chudleigh. “We are going to take a bit of a hit this year, but we are going to be here next year.”

A Milton man has been charged with possession of stolen property after a missing fibreglass chicken was found on his property.

Halton Regional Police recovered the two-and-a-half metre (eight-foot) chicken from the backyard of Brent Smith, 36, thanks to an anonymous tip just before 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The chicken belongs to Frank and Sonia Dierick of Norfolk County, Ont., who own a chicken farm of about 40,000 birds. It went missing overnight between March 1 and 2 and was discovered lying on its side with its feet missing due to it having been removed from a stand.

“We went in to receive chickens that day, little chickens in the barn and (Frank) just saw that it was missing and (our reaction was) shock, you wonder where the heck it’s gone to,” Sonia Dierick said, having just returned from picking up the ornamental chicken. Frank Dierick is now going to look into how the chicken’s legs can be re-attached.

“Was it a prank? What’s the reason behind it?” Sonia Dierick said. “They say the guy was 35 or 36 so he should know better.”

Sonia Dierick estimates the chicken, which was visible from the street, weighs about 68 kg (150 pounds). The couple got the chicken in 2004 from Frank’s father, who has since passed away, so she says it held an emotional connection for them.

The proposed university is part of the planned Milton Education Village, which will also include a research park, retail and housing.

This 2,022-square-foot end townhouse unit offers an open-concept main level and has hardwood floors throughout. The living and dining area has a bay window. The kitchen has a breakfast bar, a built-in dishwasher, ceramic floors and a walkout to a private deck.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom brick home has an open-concept family room. The master suite has a walk-in closet and a four-piece ensuite bathroom.

The 39×98-foot lot has a private driveway that leads to an attached double garage.

The cow “was captured without incident” Thursday in a field near Regional Road 25 and Britannia Road, south of Milton. A private company from Waterloo managed to catch the cow and will hold it until the owner can be found. In a news release earlier this week, Halton Regional Police sounded the first warning.

“Since May 25th, Halton Police have received seven different complaints of a cow seen roaming,” said the release. “Typically, the cow has been observed between the hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and has been seen wandering onto the roadway.”

Police, describing the fugitive as brown and white with horns, advised: “If the cow is observed near the roadway, DO NOT approach the animal, but contact police immediately.” Anyone who might know the owner should contact 905-825-4747 x2410 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).

Sometimes police press releases are best presented verbatim, otherwise we may be tempted by that lowest form of humour, the cow pun. And that would be cheap. Over to you, Halton Regional Police …

Police Warn Motorists of Cow on the Loose

The Halton Regional Police Service want to make the public aware of a cow that has been seen roaming within the Milton area.

Since May 25th, Halton Police have received seven different complaints of a cow seen roaming in an area bordered by Regional Road 25 to the east, First Line Road to the west, Lower Base Line to the south and Britannia Road to the north.

Typically, the cow has been observed between the hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and has been seen wandering onto the roadway.

The latest incident occurred this morning at 10:20 a.m., when it was observed in the area of Regional Road 25 and Britannia Road.

The cow is described as being brown and white in colour with horns.

Police are warning motorists to be extra cautious while driving through the identified area and if the cow is observed near the roadway, DO NOT approach the animal, but contact police immediately to report your location and observe from a distance if safe to do so.

Police have canvassed several farms in an effort to identify an owner without success and are appealing to the owner or anyone who might know the owner to contact police at 905 825-4747 x2410 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).

MILTON — An Ontario woman who went to elaborate lengths to pretend she had terminal cancer in a shocking scheme to raise money for her own benefit pleaded guilty to fraud on Tuesday morning.

Ashley Anne Kirilow, 23, was charged with seven counts of fraud under $5,000 and one count of fraud over $5,000 after it was revealed she had shaved her head, plucked her eyebrows and starved herself to lose weight in an attempt to mimic the symptoms of chemotherapy treatment and the ravages of cancer.

Claiming she had breast and ovarian cancer and armed with pictures of her displaying an apparently brave and uplifting attitude in the face of her battle, she elicited sympathy and admiration from friends and strangers alike and prompted thousands of dollars in donations through a Facebook—based charity.On Tuesday she admitted her duplicity.

She pleaded guilty to one charge — fraud over $5,000 — with the charges to dealt with at a later date.

Crown prosecutor Stephen Collinson said the charge she pleaded guilty to involved a charity fundraiser thrown for her by Donna Michalawski, an employee of the Burlington real estate company where Kirilow worked.

The event at Club 54 in Burlington raised about $7,400 this past February. All of the money was handed over to Kirilow who spent it on personal expenses with none of it going to charity.

She also received a free trip to Walt Disney World in Florida on behalf of a charity that grants wishes to young terminal patients, court heard.

Her strange story began after Kirilow had a benign lump removed from her breast in the spring of 2009. During a strained relationship with her parents, she lied to them that she had cancer “to make them feel bad”, Mr. Collinson said.

“Ashley enjoyed the attention and support she received as rumour of her illness spread and Ashley encouraged it,” he said.

The case drew international attention and sparked public rage as Kirilow became ubiquitously known as “the girl who faked cancer.”

Public interest in the case was evident by the unusual presence of a large contingent of reporters was present, referred to by the prosecutor as “the multitudes that are in the courtroom.”

When Kirilow arrived at the Milton courthouse before her hearing, news photographers and TV cameramen tripped over each other to catch her image. Until now, most of the pictures of her were from her Facebook page and showed her hairless and apparently at peace with it.

National Post

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/11/02/woman-who-faked-cancer-pleads-guilty-to-fraud/feed/0stdAshley Kirilow enters the Milton Court House accompanied by a lawyer on Tuesday, November 2, 2010For Sale: Muskoka-like timber-frame home with pond and woodlandhttp://news.nationalpost.com/2010/06/21/for-sale-muskoka-like-timber-frame-home-with-pond-and-woodland/
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This Muskoka-like home will appeal to mature families, says listing agent Jay Bridle. Cedar Creek Farm is a 55-acre estate that has a creek, a pond, woodland and meadows, in addition to an architecturally designed open-concept timber-frame home.

The home has a cedar shake roof, and a granite and cedar exterior.

The interior includes timber-frame ceilings, French doors, Muskoka granite fireplaces and hardwood floors.

A centre island is in the gourmet kitchen. The main-floor master suite has a walk-in closet, a five-piece ensuite bathroom and a deck.

The walkout lower level has a family room, a games room, a bedroom and a three-piece bathroom. The home has ground source and radiant floor heating.

Equestrians will love the custom-built stable, which has box stalls, a tack room, a wash stall and an attached barn and paddocks.

The private rural retreat is close to the Village of Campbellville and Highway 401.